I’ve finally done it! Below is a complete list of everything Nick & I bring with us around the world. This is everything we need to live, travel and work pretty much anywhere on Earth, and it all fits in two Tom Bihn backpacks and one purse. No Mary Poppins magic required.
Clothes (Kit)
This is a picture of me holding all of my clothes. Yup, all of them. WAIT! Before you dismiss me as some crazy minimalist hippie, keep reading. I really do have clothes for every occasion (I pack three dresses, people!) and I can look quite stylish when I want to. The secret is packing items that are easy to mix & match. Just like every women’s magazine ever told you. Also: compression sacks.
We’ve been through how ladies should pack clothes before, but now here it is, in complete list format! This is all the clothing I need to look good whether I’m hiking in a hot rainforest or going to an opera:
- Four bottoms: jeans, leggings, capri leggings, tights
- Three dresses: fun day dress, LBD, “fancy” dress
- Two shirts: one “performance” Icebreaker, one cute one from H&M
- Four shoes: hiking boots, TOMS, nice flats, sandals
- Three jackets: wool sweater, ultralight raincoat, warm coat
- Swimsuit
- Sarong (obviously!)
- Three bras: two regular, one sport
- Hat, gloves, Buff scarf
Me wearing all the clothes. By mixing and matching tops & bottoms, I have dozens of potential outfits.
Note: I left all these clothes in a compression sack for over 24 hours before pulling them out for this photo shoot. As you can see, wrinkles aren’t really a problem with the right gear.
I also carry three pairs of socks, eight pairs of performance underwear and a travel towel in a small compression sack, pictured here.
Clothes (Nick)
Nick’s compression sack is much smaller than mine because, as a guy, he just doesn’t need as much stuff. You stylish gentlemen out there can obviously bring more (just look at my packing list above!) but this is the bare minimum a digital nomad dude needs to look good, whether he’s in a nice restaurant or on the trail:
- Two bottoms: jeans, shorts
- Four shirts: two Icebreaker performance t-shirts, one nice collared shirt, one long sleeved shirt
- Two jackets: warm coat & ultralight raincoat
- Two shoes: nice-looking hiking shoes & sandals
- Bathing suit
- Hat, gloves, Buff scarf
- Three performance boxers
- Three socks
Toiletries
I think you’ll see from the lists below that neither Nick nor I skimp when it comes to pampering ourselves with lotions, beauty products and other good stuff.
Liquids Bag (Kit)
- Shampoo/conditioner
- Face wash
- Face exfoliant
- Face lotion with SPF
- Nighttime face lotion
- Acne spot treatment
- Argan oil
- Eye cream
- Hydrocortisone cream
- Neosporin
- Mascara
- Toothpaste
- Hand sanitizer
Liquids Bag (Nick)
- Toothpaste
- Contact solution
- Eye drops
- Exfoliant
- Lotion
- Shampoo/conditioner
- Sunscreen
Non-Liquid Toiletries (Kit)
- Soap
- Hairbrush
- Deodorant
- Glasses
- Razor
- Travel medical kit
- Contacts
- Hair ties & clips
- Bug bite stick
- Anti-chafing stick
- Makeup bag (powder makeup)
- Jewelry
- Tampons
- Birth control pills
Non-Liquid Toiletries (Nick)
- Soap
- Deodorant
- Contacts
- Electric razor
- Hair clippers
- Inhaler
- Dental floss
Electronics
The “digital” part of the “digital nomad” title! Just because we travel all the time doesn’t mean we don’t spend endless hours staring at screens.
- MacBook Air (Kit) & MacBook (Nick) with chargers and international plug adapters
- Nikon DSLR
- Portable hard drive
- Nintendo 3DS
- Sonicare toothbrush with two brush heads
- WiFi Extender
- Two iPhones
- Two Kindles
- USB car charger (for charging iPhones in rental cars)
- Small USB charging cables for everything except the DSLR
Other Gear
- One REI Flashpack daypack (Nick)
- One Sea to Summit packable daypack (Kit)
- One packable tote bag
- Two Platypus packable water bottles
- Electronic wipes
- Lint roller
- Other stuff I carry in my purse: sunglasses, ibuprofen, band aids, pen, chapstick, lipstick, wallet, business cards, passports, nail clippers & a nail file
All that and I still have room to spare! Which is good because I tend to pick up stuff that I then lug around for a few months until one of my semi-annual purges gets me back to basics. We’ve been doing this for almost four years now and I rarely feel I lack any of the comforts of modern life.
Even if you aren’t a digital nomad by trade, I hope this packing list helps you decide what to bring and – more importantly – what to leave behind. Packing light isn’t as hard as you think. With the right gear, you can travel like a digital nomad without sacrificing a thing. Good luck and please leave comments and questions below!
Love it! I’m embarking on a 6-9 month trip in a couple months, and want to be comfortable and don’t want to carry a lot. You’ve inspired me that I can pack small and not regret it!
Thanks!
Johanna
@TravelEater recently posted..Christmas Shopping Abroad: International Foodie Edition
Woohoo! That was my goal with this post. I know you can do it! Thanks Johanna :)
1. What’s the longest duration you’ve travelled with this amount of gear?
2. Do you typically stay in hostles and similar? I do not see much survival/camping/food gear so I’m just wondreing. Your back pack is relatively small though so I would imagine if we needed the other gear, we’d just need a bag to accomodate those items (tent, sleeping bag, etc.)
thanks again for sharing!!
1. Well, I visit Maryland every December for time with the family, but I don’t really keep much extra stuff there. Just a box in Nick’s parents’ basement with some snow gear and a couple holiday party outfits. So really I guess you could say I’ve been traveling with some variant of this packing list for almost four years. I just update it once in a while when I get holes in my jeans or have worn out a dress. At the very least I go 10 months without changing much of anything.
2. We mostly rent rooms or apartments on Airbnb. Like you said, if we wanted to spend a lot of time camping or multi-day trekking we’d need more specialized packs to carry a tent and other gear. I can wear my backpack for well over an hour without hurting my shoulders, but I couldn’t hike 20+ miles in it. When we feel like spending time in nature we can, but we just carry a daypack and we’ll sleep in a bed at night. Or at the very least a hut. :)
Thanks Leela!
This is a great list!! Inspiration for how to pack for shorter trips too!!
Thanks Erin! Inspiration was my goal :)
This is great. I love how you took photos of all of the outfits. For me, packing always boils down to making sure everything is interchangeable and can be worn together. Looks like you got it down!
Suzy recently posted..My Packing Secrets: Dos and Don’ts of the Practice That Connects All Travelers
Exactly! Thanks Suzy :)
I agree with you, Suzy! I try to make sure all of my clothes can be swapped around to make as many outfits as possible. I can get bored with my clothes when I’m traveling. They have to be versatile and functional, and yes, pretty too!
Colleen Brynn recently posted..Home For The Holidays
I’ve been researching new luggage for a trip around the world in 2013 and have come across your blog multiple times when researching the Tom Bihn Aeronaut. Looks like a great pack! Trying to decide if I want to go that route or get a proper travel backpack which will have more substantial shoulder straps.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Brian recently posted..Photo
If you’ll be doing any multi-day trekking or a lot of camping the Aeronaut is probably not the best decision. If, however, you plan on sleeping in beds most nights and only carrying your pack in between destinations, then it’s the best pack in the world!
Thanks Brian!
Great post! We leave for our RTW trip 6/29/13 and still are arguing over what to bring and how much clothes I can bring! Everyone’s packing is so different! I am glad to see you have jeans, because that’s a must for me!
Hannah @ Getting Stamped recently posted..Taking Sparting Risks
I *love* jeans even though they’re not a “smart” pack. Really skinny jeans don’t take up too much space. And they go with so much stuff!
Packing for a RTW can seem so daunting, but once you’re on the road you’ll realize you never needed all that other stuff anyway! Good luck :)
I’m curious about how your carry your camera. What do you use to protect it? In which part of your bag do you carry it? Do you carry more than one lens? I’m working really hard on transitioning my family to one bag travel, but my tech gear seems to be my biggest challenge. I want to travel light, but I also love my geeky gadgets!
Amanda recently posted..Packing for 2 weeks in North Carolina
We’ve only got one lens. I’d love to have more but it certainly wouldn’t be easy to carry with our ultralight lifestyle. We keep the camera & lens in a semi-soft case (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000LDMTSW/ref=cm_sw_su_dp) in the main pocket of Nick’s Tom Bihn Aeronaut and it’s been fine. We’ve had it for four years and never had any problems carrying it this way. They’re pretty tough :)
Gadgets are the hardest thing to lighten up on, but there is a solution to everything! Unless you want to bring a few lenses and then you should probably lighten up on everything else to make room. Good luck!
I just found your website via Lifehacker. I am very impressed by your packing skills! Do you find certain materials better for packing/endurance or do the compression sacks you have prevent wrinkles whatever the material? I love the outfits you’ve shown: very colourful and not the usual neutrals usually recommended.
I can’t wait to read the rest of your posts!
Wow, thanks Beth!
I’ve definitely found that clothes with a bit of stretch shake out the wrinkles much more quickly. My longer-sleeve Patagonia dress is 100% polyester and it is impossible to wrinkle that thing, but the other dresses are organic cotton and the wrinkles will go away after wearing it once.
As for the other clothes – I basically live in stretchy leggings or jeans, and those don’t wrinkle. My Icebreaker top will wrinkle, but again within one wearing it will be nice and smooth.
I’m going on my honeymoon in about a month, and this is perfect! We’ll only be gone for a week, but I do need to be prepared for dress down, dress up, and beach wear. I notice that most of your clothes are of very good quality, so it’s no wonder that you can pack and wear and pack and wear without wearing them out quickly!
Even if jeans aren’t a “smart” pack, if you wear them to your hotel/motel and then on your return trip, they might never have to see your bag. I normally wear my bulkier clothes (jeans, longer sweaters, etc.) on my travel to and from places. I can understand that this would be difficult for people who aren’t staying in a private space, but I’m lucky that I don’t have to worry about squeezing my jeans into a bag.
I almost always wear my jeans on travel days for this exact reason :)
Dresses are by far the most useful item I pack because they can be dressed up or down and be worn as cover-ups on the beach! I love them. Good luck on your honeymoon, and congratulations!
I’ve just stumbled on your blog accidentally when searching for tips on traveling. It’s amazing what you’ve got here. I’m planning on doing a month long trip to thailand and the surrounding countries and your packing tips are awesome! I was wondering about a few things though. For your space saver bags (the vacuum sealed ones), how do you get all the air out if you don’t have a vacuum? I’ve encountered this problem before and wondered what to do if one wasn’t available. Also, you mentioned all your work is online. I was wondering what was your occupation that you are able to work online? I’m a nurse but I have longed yearned to do exactly what you’re doing and I’d like to have at least a job (online) if finding a nursing job would be more difficult (coz of paperwork: ie licensure in different countries and such) or take a while to get.
Hi Sharmaine! Thanks for the kind words :)
My compression bags (http://www.seeknewtravel.com/essential-gear-compression-packs/) do not require a vacuum, which is why I love them so much! You just roll the air out and you’re good to go.
I do social media consulting (brands pay me to manage their social media presences) and am starting to get paid to do a bit of writing. Other nomads are software developers, graphic designers, virtual assistants… basically anything you can do from a laptop.
I just met a woman who works in public health who spends a year at a time in various countries in Africa and Asia working on local projects with NGOs and non-profits. Maybe you could look into something like that with your nursing skills?
Good luck!
Thanks for the quick reply! I checked out your space saver bags and how is it that I’m so behind in this? Lol. Anyhow, after looking at the rest of your site, I realized I’ve just missed you! I live in Hawaii. If I had stumbled on this site sooner, I could’ve met you and shown you around as well. =)
Well hopefully it won’t be too long until I’m in Hawaii again :)
Hello Kit!
Thank so much for sharing this invaluable information! I was wondering what you do when you run out of specific toiletries you like to use, ie. LUSH shampoo bars, or a specific face moisterizer. Do you order them online or stock up? What do you do when you are on the move and aren’t at an address long enough to receive a package?
Thanks again and safe travels! =)
This is why I’m a fan of globalization. LUSH has stores in most major cities, and I can find Neutrogena or Nivea anywhere. I only run out of things every 6-10 weeks, and I don’t usually go that long without stopping in a city. I also tend to stock up on solid things like LUSH shampoo and body butter bars, so I only need to buy two times a year or so. They don’t take up much space, so I keep 2-3 with me at a time.
If in the rare case I’m in a country that doesn’t have a preferred product I like I stay flexible and buy something new! You never know what great products you’ll discover in a foreign supermarket or pharmacy! :)